Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $176.17.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE ARES opened at $186.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.80. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.99, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, analysts predict that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 18,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.55, for a total value of $3,205,367.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 116,348 shares in the company, valued at $20,424,891.40. This trade represents a 13.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 18,389 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.54, for a total value of $3,228,005.06. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 114,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,181,307.18. The trade was a 13.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 447,080 shares of company stock valued at $80,060,323. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after acquiring an additional 907,757 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Ares Management by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,903,741,000 after purchasing an additional 223,919 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,465,433,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,258,519,000 after buying an additional 807,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $907,534,000 after buying an additional 66,671 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.